when i grow up
by Silverflare07
Summary: He does "big boy" things now and she just wants to join in. Ten year old Justin catches Alex using their mother's make-up because she wants to be big girl. Justin/Alex sibling fluff with a hint of Jalex at the very end. *weird issue has been fixed!*


Not much to say about this one shot. It was inspired by Justin's line in _Wizards vs Finkles_.It's when Alex has a lot of terrible make-up on and Justin sees her and says, "Aw, did Alex get into Mommy's make-up again?" You don't actually have to have seen the episode to understand this though.

Okay, so this was supposed to just be a cute moment between too siblings, but the Jalex shipper in me got loose and the last section is most definitely Jalex in nature. So, if you don't like Jalex romantically, I made it so that you didn't need to read the more romantic last section (you can skip it and still enjoy the fic). If you see oOo breaking up sections, keep reading. When you get to the line that separates two sections skip the next section, because that's where the romance is.

Anyways, enjoy.

oOo

When Justin is ten years old he meets his first really good friend, Zeke Beakerman, at lunch when Zeke sits down next to him and pulls out a lunch box with aliens on it. Justin knows that he should probably not say anything (he's not exactly cool and the other kids tease him a lot), but he can't stop himself from blurting out, "You think aliens are real too?"

Zeke looks up at him, surprised that someone is talking to him (he's only ten, but he's the new kid and he knows that new kids don't usually get talked to during their first couple of days at a new school). He nods though, because at least this boy isn't making fun of him, yet anyways.

Justin nods, smiling happily. "Me too." He pulls out his comic book, "I've been reading up on how to survive when the aliens take over Earth."

Zeke is looking at him with wide eyes, but he isn't looking at him like he's weird (which is how most people look at him), he's looking at him like he's a genius. "Can I help you prepare?"

Justin nods again. "Sure." The two boys shake hands and it is the beginning of one of the best friendship he's ever had.

oOo

Before Zeke, Justin's best friend was his little sister Alex. She pranked him and sometimes tried to get him in trouble, but she also played with him and watched movies with him and was always there after he got home from school, waiting with their mom and cookies and milk.

Sometimes he has to play house or dolls with her (and they're actually kind of fun, especially when they can rope Max into being the baby) and sometimes she watches _Bill Nye the Science Guy_ with him, but mostly they do things they both enjoy, like playing with their training wands.

Shortly after meeting Zeke though, Justin starts to spend all his time with him. He doesn't have time to play house because they have to prepare for the incoming alien invasion and he can't walk her down the street to get ice cream anymore because he and Zeke are headed to the comic book store to get the latest Captain Jim Bob Sherwood comic.

Justin starts to realize that hanging out with his little sister is kind of dorky and, now that he and Zeke have both found someone who is just as nerdy, the other kids don't make fun of them as much (the mind of children is strangely complex, it's usually only fun to pick on one kid and it certainly isn't as fun when your target shrugs off you're teasing because they have a best friend so it doesn't bother them as much). So even when he's not hanging out with Zeke he starts to brush her off and do things on his own (when she asks why, with big innocent eyes, he tells her it's because he's doing big boy stuff and that she's not old enough to do them with him).

He doesn't even notice when he comes home from school one day, nearly a month after he and Zeke first became friends and it's just his mother waiting for him with milk and cookies.

oOo

It's nearly two months after he and Zeke become friends and Justin is home watching Alex while both of his parents are downstairs working in the Sub Station on a particularly busy Thursday afternoon. He's supposed to help Alex with her homework (she hasn't been doing well on her weekly spelling tests), but he can't seem to find her anywhere.

He's about to get his parents (because Alex is sneaky and since he can't find her in the apartment the only logical conclusion is that she's _outside_ of the apartment and Alex is only eight and not allowed to go out without Justin), when Alex comes thumping down the stairs, calling his name proudly.

He takes one look at her face when she reaches the bottom step and his eyes widen in shock. She has lipstick on her mouth and half of her cheek. She has drawn two half circles under her eye with eye liner and there is a large helping of bright blue eye shadow from her eyelids to her eyebrows. He sniffs the air and almost gags (half of their mother's favorite perfume is apparently on Alex now. It usually smells really good but she's clearly used far too much).

"What did you do?" He asks her, his mouth still gaping at her appearance.

"I put on Mommy's make-up!" She tells him happily. "Isn't it great?"

"What? No!"

She must hear the disapproval in his voice because her face falls and her next question is laced with uncertainty. "It-it's not?"

"No!" Justin admonishes her. "You know you aren't supposed to touch Mommy's make-up. Why would you do that?"

Alex starts to tear up at his scolding and she swipes at her eye, smearing the eyeliner and eye shadow. "I just wanted to be a big girl."

"What?" Alex has never expressed any interest in being an adult before (she usually asks her parents if she can go back to being five so she doesn't have to go to school anymore.)

"You-" she hiccups and Justin realizes with a shock that she's going to cry. "You said you couldn't play with me anymore because I'm not a big girl. So I-I just wanted to put Mommy's make-up on so I could be big and you would want to play with me again."

She starts to cry and instead of running to tell their parents, Justin wraps her in a hug and lets her cry.

"I'm sorry." He tells her, and he really is. He got so caught up in having a best friend, of being someone other than Justin Russo, the weird kid who likes studying and aliens, that he didn't even think about Alex's feelings. He had always promised himself when she was little that he would take care of her (she was the little sister, _his_ little sister) and he hasn't been doing that lately.

He pulls back from her and kneels down so he's at eye level with her, but he leaves his hands on her shoulders. "I promise," He tells her as she wipes away some of her tears, smearing the poorly applied make-up even more, "I promise that we can still play together. You don't need to be big girl for that." He smiles gently at her (Alex acts so tough, sometimes he forgets how easily she can break). "I like you just the way you are."

"Really?" Alex sniffs, but she's stopped crying and the vice that was around Justin's heart eases up a little.

"Really." He tells her. "You're my sister. How could I not?"

She beams at him, throwing her arms around him again. "Thank you Justin!"

He hugs her once more, glad that she has stopped crying and that he knows what the problem is so he can fix it. He vows that she will never cry again because of him, because Justin hates when Alex cries.

"Come on," He tells her gently has he breaks the hug, "we need to wash off Mommy's make-up so you don't get in trouble."

(the make-up is waterproof so she gets in trouble anyways, but Justin makes sure he takes some of the blame so that they get in trouble together)

oOo

When Justin is fifteen, Alex decides that she's too cool to hang out with her dorky older brother. Even though they'd stopped playing games like house or dolls a long time ago, it still hurts Justin to know that his sister is throwing their friendship aside for Harper and clothes and other boys who aren't her brother.

He remembers her, eight years old, and covered in their mother's make-up and trying to be big girl, and doesn't say anything as she teases him for his action figures. There comes a time when siblings just start to grow apart, at least for a little while and Justin doesn't need to pretend to shave or wear his father's cologne to be old enough to realize that this is probably temporary.

Eventually, Alex really will become a grown up (a big girl, has she called it so many years ago) and they can be friends again.

Until then, Justin will wait, because she's his best friend, even if it's hard to see it.

oOo

Justin is twenty-three when Alex walks into his bedroom, in a sexy little black dress, with her hair done in curls (she's wearing smoky eye make up that makes her brown eyes look dark and alluring and red lipstick that make her lips look even more kissable).

"So Justin," she saunters over to him and he can't control the shiver of desire that runs through him, "am I grown up enough to do those "big boy" things with you now?"

That should probably not be as hot as it is, but one thing Justin has learned is to embrace their history as siblings instead of ignoring it (it is way too complex and way too much of what makes them _JustinandAlex_ to ignore). He wraps his arms around her and kisses her deeply.

"I think so." He answers breathlessly once they break apart. They kiss again and he can feel her smile against his lips.

"Good." She whispers as she leads him to his bed.

(it's not the make-up that makes her a grown-up, but Justin enjoys it all the same.)

* * *

><p>There's my one shot. This idea hit my a few days ago and I finally had to sit down and write it. Hopefully you guys liked it.<p>

Let me know what you think. It's been a while since I've written for this fandom so I'm kind of rusty. Luckily, we don't hear much about Justin and Alex as little kids so hopefully they're not too out of character.


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